UK Beer Brands Lag on Localization

ByElisabeth Rosen ·

6 July 2016

Despite the vast cultural differences between the UK and US, few beer brands tailor digital content for the British market. Barely half of brand sites in the UK are localized, and the percentage is even lower for social media accounts – meaning that brands are missing a valuable opportunity to connect with consumers.

Only 58% of brand sites in L2’s Digital IQ Index: Beer UK use “UK” or “GB” modifiers, and just a handful offer UK-specific content. One of those is Carling, the largest beer brand in the country. The brand site features local advertisements, UPC contests, and a shopping cart linking to retailers.

Many brands also fail to address local consumers on social media. Only 41% of social media accounts are UK-specific, and even brands that create such accounts often underutilize them: while half of Index brands manage a UK Facebook account, 38% did not post a single time in Q1 2016. Consequently, those pages see less engagement than their overseas counterparts. For example, Budweiser’s American account garners more than 30 times the interactions of the brand’s UK equivalent.